Macular degeneration epidemiology

In the Unites States, the daily intake of 3-carotene is around 2 mg/day Several epidemiological studies have reported that consumption of carotenoid-rich foods is associated with reduced risks of certain chronic diseases such as cancers, cardiovascular disease, and age-related macular degeneration. These preventive effects of carotenoids may be related to their major function as vitamin A precursors and/or their actions as antioxidants, modulators of the immune response, and inducers of gap-junction communications. Not all carotenoids exert similar protective effects against specific diseases. By reason of the potential use of carotenoids as natural food colorants and/or for their health-promoting effects, research has focused on better understanding how they are absorbed by and metabolized in the human body. 

One class of phytochemicals that has been widely studied for their preventive effect against cancer is carotenoids. To date, as many as 600 carotenoids have been isolated from various sources, and their chemical structures have been characterized. The evidence for nutritional prevention of cancer, heart disease, and macular degeneration (an age-related degenerative eye disease) by carotenoids has been obtained from various interdisciplinary studies these may be classified as (1) epidemiological... 

Seddon JM, Chen CA.The epidemiology of age-related macular degeneration. Int Ophthalmol Chn 2004 44 17. 

Ferris FL III. 1983. Senile macular degeneration Review of epidemiologic features. Am J Epidemiol 118 132-151. 

In contrast, epidemiologic studies relating the intake of lutein and zeoxanthin with decreased incidence of age-related macular degeneration have received progressive support. These two carotenoids are concentrated in the macula (the central portion of the retina) and are called the macular carotenoids. 

It is known that their daily dietary intakes by carotenoid-rich vegetable and fruits to human body against the risks of these age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, cataracts of an eye disease that involves the clouding (opacification) of the natural lens of the eye, age-related macular degeneration of macular degeneration that is age-related, various cancers and kidney failure (renal failure renal insufficiency) could have epidemiologically an inverse relationship [25, 26, 27, 28],... 

Hawkins BS, Bird A, Klein R, West SK (1999) Epidemiology of age-related macular degeneration. Mol Vis 5 U7-U10... 

---